2010

National Security Update – World Terror Sitrep, Volume 1, Number 1

By WILLIAM MAYER

July 22, 2014 – San Francisco, CA – PipeLineNews.org – Today a brief glance at some of the world’s terror hot spots.

Egypt - President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has vowed to avenge the recent terrorist attack against Egyptian troops in the al-Wadi al-Jadid governorate which left 22 dead. Al-Wadi al-Jadid is located in central/southwestern Egypt and comprises about 1/3 of the country’s territory. El-Sisi has charged unnamed terrorists and members of the now banned Muslim Brotherhood for the violence.

Al-Wadi al-Jidad and Libya share a border and security concerns have risen since President Obama/NATO’s short-lived but effective air war against the nation which deposed long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi and thoroughly destabilized the country. Libya now serves as something of a terror central haven for jihadists as well as a source and shipping point for heavy weapons which were looted from Gaddafi’s armories after his death. Arguably the most dangerous piece of hardware to come out of Libya’s huge stockpile are shoulder fired surface to air missiles of varying types, some of which are quite sophisticated. El-Sisi, who so far has showed a remarkable talent for pulling together a country which was in tatters in the wake of Morsi’s terrorist government, fears that Libya’s instability represents a major threat to Egypt’s national security as the attack on al-Wadi al-Jadid proved.

Iraq/Syria - As ISIS consolidates power in Iraq its gains in that country are having a negative effect on its neighbor, Syria. The rout of the Iraqi army has provided Baghdadi’s “caliphate,” with great quantities of U.S. supplied heavy weapons, which along with the hundreds of millions looted from Iraqi banks have reinvigorated the Sunni jihadists which have been fighting against the Assad government since shortly after the initial 2011 uprising.

Gaza - The war continues to expand with Israel now driving deep into Gaza in combined operations designed to hamstring HAMAS by destroying the network of tunnels the group uses as shelter and to gain access to the Jewish state. Important pieces of HAMAS infrastructure have also come under attack including its command/control centers. HAMAS continues the practice of using its people as human shields in a so-far successful attempt [the Western media doesn’t need much pushing to tilt towards the terrorists against the Israelis] to influence world public opinion. Secretary of State Kerry has been a constant presence during the conflict, displaying a particularly oafish approach to the now entirely discredited “peace process” which has greatly harmed U.S. credibility in the region.

What the conflict comes down to is really quite simple, paraphrasing Daniel Pipes PhD; it’s a war between civilization and barbarism, with HAMAS representing the latter. As Israeli PM Netanyahu succinctly puts it, "Here's the difference between us. We're using missile defense to protect our civilians, and they're using their civilians to protect their missiles."

Europe : The Continent has exploded with displays of anti-Semitism, using the Gaza operation as pretext/cover for the growing specter of Jew hatred which no longer seems to raise many eyebrows or carry much of a public stigma. In Paris at least three protests turned violent with Muslim and leftist anti-Semites uniting under common cause. France is the home to Western Europe’s largest Muslim community. Moreover, the alliance between the street jihadists and hard left is creating a palpable fear among European Jews who are seeing played out on their streets the type of dreadful scenes which most felt would never be replicated after the defeat of Nazi Germany. Another example of the growing and open hostility to Jews is being seen in the Netherlands, once the home of chest-pumping “free thinkers.” The Dutch have become so emasculated that the government has been frozen into inaction or worse attempted cooptation of its largely immigrant [Morocco] Muslim population. Dutch Muslims refuse to assimilate, are involved in a disproportionate amount of criminal activity, are openly preaching Jew hatred, making public threats against those whom they have labeled Islamophobes, that being anyone who disagrees with them. At least one prominent politician, Frits Bolkestein , has advised Jews to immigrate to Israel or the United States because the government refuses to protect them. It’s become a common occurrence even in large cities in Holland for Jews to be physically assaulted, insulted, spat upon etc. To a large extent these incidents aren’t even investigated by law enforcement.

Nigeria : Boko Haram seems to be evolving along the lines of the ISIS model and is now attacking and holding large pieces of territory rather than its former strategy of strike and run. After a 5 day assault the city Damboa [Borno State] has been overrun by the group, displacing 15,000 people in the process. At least 100 have been killed in the fighting but the situation is so chaotic that precise fix on the number of casualties isn’t going to happen anytime soon. Numerous reports indicate that the city was razed during a battle in which government troops were nowhere in evidence.

Somalia : Al-Shabaab continues to be the country’s most deadly jihadist group. They have become emboldened, as have Islamists on a world-wide scale by the Team Obama’s American retreat. In mid-July al-Shabaab assassinated Ibrahim Ahmed Farah a ranking official in the country’s anti-terrorism unit. They also engaged a Somali army convoy, inflicting heavy losses including the killing of a divisional commander.

Kenya : Over the last few days Al-Shabaab has attacked a number of largely undefended villages killing dozens. British nationals have been advised by London to avoid large areas of the country because of al-Shabaab never-ending religious war against the country’s Christian majority [80% of Kenya’s population].

Overall, the sitrep continues to be bleak. Obama’s unilateral retreat and unwillingness to use military force against the thugs of the world it has sent the clear message that just about anything is fair game and the enemy is acting accordingly to the great discredit of this administration.